meridian 861 or Theta Cas.III-which is better

I had compared Theta CB2 with xtreme DACs to Meridian 861v3 and there was no comparison- 861 was much better wrt soundstage, clarity and overall better sonics. I was actually surprised- with v4 it was a no brainer (if your room is poor in bass coverage then v4 offers even more improvement)

I personally feel Meridian is one of the top pre-pros to beat and once you hear anc play with Trifield- you will not listen to 2 Ch music (provided you have an equal or almost matched center channel with front 2 speakers)

BTW I uses analog speakers not Meridian.

Cheers,
Kishore

861 v4 is the current end of the road

To be fair , the Cas 111 is right there beside it and either choice represents , along with the mark Levinson processor , "the best of the best of the best".... sir!

Another really good one in that price range is Tag McClaren. I would hands down buy Meridian over Theta in any class. Also, I like the G series Meridian. They are just a much more reliable product from what I have heard.

I have owned Theta Casablance (Syandard Dacs), Lexicon MC12 V3, AVP, PAV/PDSD and the Gseries 91/68. I also auditioned the Mark levinson 40 in house for 2 days. What do I have now: current versions Meridian 800/861. The absolute best I have owned or heard. PERIOD.